Sometimes I feel stupid posting anything Bryce 4 related, considering how much cooler Bryce 5's rendering engine is. This render took 15.49 hours on a Pentium 2 with 64 MB RAM. My plan is to build a mecha/warbot with lattices, in my spare time at work. Only problem is that with 64MB RAM, I doubt I'll be able to finish it in Bryce 4, have to take it home... The mesh is at 512x512, which apparently isn't smooth enough for objects of this sort. I tried smoothing it, but this was the best it got. But I liked the reflections and the shadows, figured I'd share this image/WIP! Thanks for stopping to look...

Yeah...for detailed parts (and better smoothing) you really need to go to 1024x1024 I have found, sometimes you can take that 1024 down to 512 IN the terrain editor with better results than just making a 512 to begin with in photoshop (sometimes). This pertains to this subject in particular; machine type parts, with details, kinda close-up. AgentSmith

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"I want to be what I was when I wanted to be what I am now"

Cool work, AgentSmith! Makes mine look like, uh... Crap? (grins)

That's most impressive, AS. How did you get it so smooth? Is it done in the terrain editor (by numerous "smooth" clicks), or is it the source image for the latice? Or a combination of both? I've only experimented with latices a few times, and haven't had something that looks that good.

Yeah, how'd ya do it AS. Looks like ya sanded every pixel with 00000. sandpaper and then plated it. Very cool!

Just use a huge resolution in photoshop, preferably a multiple of the resolution you'll be using in bryce, then do a slight gausian blur, it will take the harshness off the pixelated edges. It's much less in editing the final model as in editing the original image.

It's a combo of a few things, and...cheating. You really gotta have a 1024x1024 image with the image taking up as much of that as possible. Then I usually smooth something out like this in the terrain editor with at least 5 clicks and sometimes up to 20. It always varies. Then using the clipping bracket I will clip it, go render to check it out, go back and clip, go render to check it out....over and over, lol. The smoothing in the terrain editor will also effect the clipping, so try say, 5 smoothing clicks and then try clipping back and forth. If that wasn't good, click the smoothing 5 more times and try the clipping, over and over, until you get it where it looks the best. Rinse and repeat. Try to avoid going blind... And, the cheating? Postwork, lol. Just blend whatever is left of that that edge in/away. (I think I have a "before" pic here somewhere.) AS

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"I want to be what I was when I wanted to be what I am now"

Before post-work. I think this is about as good as it gets, but of course with using a material without a bump, you can easily see the seam, trick is (when you can) use a material that has a bump that will help hide it. Like when I did rj001's "The Shape" Challenge, there were big seams everywhere in my lattices, they were just hard to see cause the material was bumpy/rocky. AgentSmith

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"I want to be what I was when I wanted to be what I am now"

Ah So! Arigato AS-san!

LMAO!

Thanks AS! That helps!

Excellent lattice work guys, and how long before we see the whole robot Shadow? Catlin

Ahh, Catlin, the robot will be done, uh... Whenever they stop actually trying to make me WORK at work! Also, I'm not sure about all the kinematics involved, and since I started playing with Rhino, methinks I could do a way better job with way fewer polygons with that program. Have no fear, I do nearly all of my rendering in Bryce, though. So I'll work on it for you Catlin...!

Oh! thank you so much shadow I can't wait to see it when finished. I got Rhino last year and still haven't managed to make anything decent with it. I think I should practice more but I find it sooo hard to drag myself away from Bryce.........lol 8) Catlin